Oracle Receives ISO 14001 Certification in 14 Countries across Europe and Africa
Environmental Management System recognized for helping to minimise environmental impact
GENEVA, Switzerland 03-DEC-2007 Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) today announced that it has been awarded the international ISO 14001 environmental certification in 14 countries across Europe and Africa. Oracle now holds the prestigious standard in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
The ISO 14001 standard, created by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), specifies a set of requirements for the creation and implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS), which helps organisations to minimise any negative impact their operations have on the environment. Under the requirements of ISO 14001, Oracle will be setting performance targets to deliver environmental best practice, and to extend certification efforts across other countries in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region.
"We have been proactively implementing programs to conserve and protect the environment that we all share," said Sergio Giacoletto, Executive Vice President, Oracle Europe, Middle East & Africa. "All of our employees are enthusiastically committed to minimising our environmental impact and this successful ISO 14001 certification in 14 countries is part of that corporate team effort. We are accelerating our efforts in what is now viewed globally as a time-critical issue for us all."
ISO 14001 accreditation initiatives form part of the overall Oracle environmental management system spanning five key areas of environmental awareness - water, energy, transport, waste and procurement. - and many countries have adopted various solutions to achieve their overall goals.
In water conservation, for example, Oracle is committed to reducing its use of water resources via innovative solutions such as waterless car valeting which has resulted in 37,400 litres of water being saved in the UK (to May 2007), and through the use of infra-red taps in many locations. In energy, many Oracle facilities use hydro-electric schemes, including Italy which is 100% hydro-electric in its two main offices.
Additionally, there is extensive use of automatic light sensors at many locations.
In transport, Oracle has many reduction schemes such as long-standing, well-adopted car sharing schemes; incentives to employees who select hybrid vehicles; active adoption of homeworking; monitoring of food supply miles by the catering teams; video-conferencing to reduce air miles; and an Orabike scheme in the UK whereby employees can use bicycles supplied by the company to make their daily journeys.
In the area of waste management and reduction, Oracle has waste segregation programs; procurement policies ensuring purchase of recycled products ranging from paper to office chairs; recycling of toner, ink and mobile phones, and company cleaners who use no chemicals and produce no waste onsite. This bio-friendly environment benefits employees, as does a "Bio-office" program in Norway whereby air quality is improved in work areas via extensive use of plants. Environmental awareness also extends to Oracle's supply chain with a requirement for prospective suppliers to provide their environmental credentials.
"Our overall regional program to achieve our environmental objectives is supplemented by some of these excellent country activities," said Sergio Giacoletto. "Employee online environmental awareness training, together with our suggestions box, has embedded the need for personal action to 'reduce, re-use and recycle' into everyone's consciousness. Enhancing environmental performance is a process that involves all staff and we are making good progress in achieving our goals."
About Oracle
Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, visit our Web site at: www.oracle.com
Contact(s):
Val Russell
Oracle
+44.118.924.4704
val.russell@oracle.com
